I am happy to announce newly created group Mod Design Team. As VCMI is getting closer and closer to playable version and long awaited map editor is going to be presented in next version (VCMI 0.99) we have decided to join forces and form new group which will be focused on delivering high quality content to the game.

Group members are people responsible for lately introduced Heavenly Forge (http://heroescommunity.com/viewthread.php3?TID=36162&pagenumber=59), and Oasis (http://heroescommunity.com/viewthread.php3?TID=40900&pagenumber=9), so if anyone is worried, I would risk statement, that we have skills to deliver good addon ourselves.

Our main objectives is to enrich game with extra content grouped in a form of submods. That means that several different ideas would be assigned to single mods with a possibilities to turn it on or off according to your personal taste. We feel that this approach is in the line with the philosophy, and our group guarantees it's good execution.

You may ask what about this extra content in reference to new towns. Of course some of this content would be necessary to install them, but it is up to a town authors if they are going to do so. For sure there is a place for only-faction content, as we won't be implementing special content in "base submods", so you won't be fighting with new Forge neutral (Alien) without installing town, or you won't see Oasis-only artefacts without doing the same.

Note that presented below materials are considered "DONE" right after they appear in mod!

Here are main projects which are under development right now
1) Alternative units
This idea was first introduced in Heroes IV, and then ended up as an one of abandoned HoTa project. In short it is about giving alternative option for creatures in line up of all towns. What is making new unit a good choice is situational pick and different strategies it will apply to gameplay. New units will have base, upgrade, fitting dwelling and it's representation on map.

For now we are focusing on a basic towns of H3, but in a future it will contain alternatives also for Cove and our two towns. Plan is to introduce three creatures per faction, but first playable version will have just one.

Here are some creatures made by Witchking, Trith, Sower, Nephretes (hi)

I) HD

II) In game

For now I won't cover which unit is assigned to, so you may speculate yourselves.

III) Dwellings on town screen

IV) Dwellings on adventure map

PS. English is going to be official language.

V) Inside Town Hall

2) Neutral units
There is nothing that diversifies game so easily as new neutral units. New creatures are always nice thing to have Some of them are specially preapered for this purpose, some of them are projects which won't make it in alternatives

3) New artifacts
Beside usual stuff like new artifacts with completely new properties, or new sets there will be completely new type of them called 'Wands' which will allow to cast spells during battle for free.

4) Alternative special buildings
It is one of the most distant future to introduce new special buildings to further differentiate strategy option for towns

5) New heroes battle defs
VCMI allows to distinguish classes by sex. For now this option is only available for Forge, and future Oasis relase, but we are planning to make it for every fraction.

6) Damn, this work never ends
What we have already announced is enough work for years, but who knows what we will come up with.

orzie said:You know, aside from registered trademarks in this world we live in there is such thing as simply good tone and politeness towards colleagues.

Are you from world where ponies do a snow by butterlies?

PS Sphinxes don't even look similar. And they are male aside from HOTA boobs sphinxes.
As for knights, it's a stylization of knights from WoW with wings on helms. Strange to compare them to Cathedral paladins.
Acolytes were said to be remakes of Cathedral acolytes never released.
Werewolves are from WOG.
Driads are redrawn based on driads from HMM7

I am author of Dryad and when I was making model I was trying to connect best features of this unit from Heroes V and VII. To tell the truth I see HoTa version of it for a first time

WoG has introduced werewolves before HoTa was even a thing, and additionally resemblence between our versions is very far away?

As for Paladin it is a true that their version was an inspiration, we admire Alexander work while we are not making 100% copy. We may however try to recreate some of them, as we are thinking that it is a shame that they won't be used anyway.

Even more peculiar is a try to demonstrate similarity for sphinx, which is besides not our unit, but creature for Bastion which is not a part of our group

While for Heretic it was private artist attempt to reproduce unit from HoTa and is not going to be introduced in our addon

We have mentioned that alternatives was one of projects for HoTa, but after they have resigned to introduce it for their addon - we don't see any reason to abandon some good ideas.

Currently there is no other graphically ambitious projects outside of HoTa (Of course there is Succesion Wars, but this is H2 style), we are hoping to give people a choice with our work

The knight is simply animated exactly like the Cathedral one. I don't mean snow, but it would be good to have Knights done with a little more imagination in their animation scheme. Let's say the HotA's is not that good (and this is my real opinion).

Quote:HoTa

It's Horn of the Abyss.

Quote:Of course there is Succesion Wars, but this is H2 style

I have no doubt our new creatures for H2 will eventually end up in VCMI with such people as Macron1, regardless if we want this or not.

Quote:If it was for me... one big mod for everything HotA, VCMI, WoG in one...

But we intend our mods to be separate because we have concept and game design solutions, which were forged in fruitful discussions on forums, drawn in drafts and written down in design documents. Some projects have their own design and they are intended to be whole and unchanged, because it's rather a complete product than another content patch.

Having all our content available to mix-up is inavoidable, but it's seriously crap and it's not how it should be used. I hope at least some people understand that. Not even mentioning the bad advertisement for the original projects because people might mistake the original project with a VCMI mish-mash mod made by unskilled user given a tool easy in use and not requiring the general sense of beauty.

But well, I guess the worst things are always unpredicted (like it was with Internet itself). All of us wanted VCMI to become something ultimate and to provide people easy modding, but no one expected a flow of low-quality work. With the formation of the said team I seriously hope there will be many new unique projects which will draw attention. You guys rock, and you are the only hope for us all.

np with that... some on/off switches are enough for full mod/game experience. The biggest thing would be a workaround for the game files. One big extern engine that needs original files to run (copyright issue) + seperate modules for additional mods.